The “Sr. de Torrechayoc - Mototaxistas” community bank has been through five loan cycles (each loan cycle lasts 6 months). They have been together as a group for two and a half years. The bank is made up of people who provide motorcycle taxi services in the city of Urubamba. The bank's meetings take place every thirty days in Asociación Arariwa's office, in the city of Urubamba. Most of the group's members live in the city of Urubamba, in Cusco department, Peru. The 'Valle Sagrado' (Sacred Valley) has become one of the most important tourist centers in the country. In addition to boasting an unrivaled historical heritage, the Urubamba region offers tourists infinite possibilities for entertainment: hiking, visiting the spas, taking raft or kayak journeys on the river, paragliding or hang gliding, horseback riding, mountaineering, etc.

The members of this group are people who feel very proud to live in the city of Urubamba. They take advantage of opportunities to get ahead in life and, through their daily efforts, they strive to provide their children with a better future. The members' business activities include: selling vegetables, running a 'chicharroneria' (a restaurant serving 'chicharrón' - pork crackling), selling clothes, selling meals and providing services as laborers or motorcycle taxi drivers.

Vilma is 24 years old and was born in the city of Quillabamba, in Convección province. She lives with her partner and her two children in the city of Urubamba. Her main business activity is selling ice cream, popcorn and candies as an itinerant street vendor. She has been in this business for two years. Vilma is a very hard-working and enterprising woman who also works fattening animals such as bulls and cows which she later sells for a better price. On this occasion, Vilma requires a loan to increase her business capital like the other members of her community bank. She would like to buy livestock.

(The members who are missing from the photo are not there because they requested permission to be absent from the meeting).

Additional Information

Important Information

About Asociación Arariwa
Asociación Arariwa is a large non-governmental organization that started offering microcredit in 1994 to improve the quality of life, skills and equity of the population in the rural Cusco region of Peru. Arariwa serves the southern Andean provinces of Peru, and is distinguished by its efforts to reach the very poor, who often live in isolated rural areas. Arariwa fosters village banking, supports savings accounts, promotes access to education, and empowers women entrepreneurs (who make up 78% of its borrowers).

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.